Is Natulique Hair Color Certified Organic?

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I often get questions about Natulique permanent hair color. Some of you tell me that Natulique hair color must be healthy because it is “certified organic.” I recently investigated this claim. Let me tell you what I learned.

When you type the word Natulique into the Google search engine, you will see the words “organic” or “certified organic” written all over the page.

When you visit the Natulique hair color website, you will see the words “certified organic” in the its logo.

The Natulique hair color website has the word “organic” written all over it.

No wonder people think that their permanent hair color products are certified organic or natural, or at very least, are safer than other permanent hair color brands.

By the way, when you go to the Natulique permanent hair color product page, you will notice their narrative switches from “organic” hair color to “natural” hair color. And it is the phrase “natural” hair color that is featured on the product box itself.

On the same page, Natulique states that it is “98,02% derived from natural sources.”

Let me give you some perspective on this claim. First of all, “natural” is virtually meaningless. Lead and petroleum and snake venom are all “natural,” which does not mean they are safe. Second, while some substances can start from a natural source, the derivation process might involve a multi-step process with additional chemicals used along the way.

For example, Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) can be made from coconut oil. While this sounds healthy and “natural,” let’s take a look how it gets there. First, coconut oil is turned into fatty acids that are used to derive lauryl alcohol. Then lauryl alcohol is treated with sulfur trioxide gas or chlorosulfuric acid to produce Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. And finally, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate is treated with carcinogenic ethylene oxide to make Sodium Laureth Sulfate. This process is called ethoxylation. As a result of the ethoxylation reaction, carcinogenic 1,4-dioxane is produced and can be left in the final product. So, it’s important to understand not only of what an ingredient is derived, but also how it was derived, and what byproducts may be present that are not listed as “ingredients” (and which do not have to be disclosed.

Another example is that Cocamide DEA, a surfactant derived from coconut oil, was classified as a carcinogen in 2012.

“But wait!” you say. “We don’t have to worry about any of this, because Natulique is ‘certified organic!’ We don’t have to worry!”

Not so fast. True, Natulique is certified organic. So what’s the problem?

Well, a couple things. First, hair colorants/dyes, which have to be present in a permanent hair color, are not agricultural products, so they can’t be certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture, and they can’t use the familiar and comforting USDA Organic label we have all been trained to look for in the grocery store aisles.

Instead, Natulique is certified organic by something that calls itself “360BIOCERT.” You can find Natulique’s statement here and the screenshot of the text below.

I have not been able to find any information about the 360BIOCERT agency and they have not responded to me. In fact, my email bounced back three times and there is no phone number to call. I wonder if there are any other companies besides Natulique that are certified to this certification. I wonder who founded this certifying agency.

I noticed several things noteworthy about Natulique’s claim to be “certified organic” by 360BIOCERT.

First, the standard itself is very low and does not inspire my confidence in products that allegedly would meet its standards. There are two 360BIOCERT standards: 360BIOCERT Organic and 360BIOCERT Natural. 360BIOCERT Natural only requires that 95% of the ingredients be “natural” – but, importantly, the standard does not define what this means.

Second, the 360BIOCERT Organic standard only requires 10% of the ingredients to be organic. Compare this with the USDA requirement of 95% to consider a cosmetic product to be certified organic. Take a look for yourself as to how low (and vague) these standards are. Or, better yet, don’t, because right now this website enjoys no traffic at all, so let’s not dignify it by going there, hee hee.

Third, Natulique claims it is “certified organic.” However, it clearly does not meet the 360BIOCERT standard, because that standard requires “no MEAs and PEGs,” but Natulique has them.

So, in order to claim to be “certified organic,” it appears that Natulique created its own certification, registered a trademark for the certification, created the standard for organic certification, and then failed to live up to its own manufactured certification, but . . . nevertheless, markets itself as being “certified organic.”

Natulique Hair Color Ingredients

With this said, let’s look at the ingredients themselves. When I research products, I spend very little time reading their stories, missions, and marketing claims. I go straight for the ingredients. I look at each ingredient and see what the body of science has to say about them. Here is a screenshot of the full list of ingredients for the Natulique hair color, which you can find at the bottom of this page.

I re-arranged the ingredients into 3 groups: colorants/hair dyes themselves, a hair shaft opener, and all the other ingredients. Please see the list below.

Colorants/Hair Dyes

p-phenylenediamine (PPD)

resorcinol

2-methylresorcinol

4-chlororesorcinol

4-amino-2-hydroxytoluene

p-aminophenol

m-aminophenol

2-amino-4-hydroxyethylaminoanisole sulfate

Hair Shaft Opener

ethanolamine

Others

water

sodium coco sulfate

myristyl alcohol

cetearyl alcohol

cocamide MEA

cocamide MIPA

cocamidopropyl betaine

oleth-20

sodium sulfite

tetrasodium EDTA

bisamino PEG/PPG-41/3 aminoethyl PG propyl dimethicone

vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil

natural parfum/fragrance

sodium cocoyl hydrolyzed wheat protein

ascorbic acid

butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter

erythorbic acid

PEG-10 olive glycerides

polysorbate 20

helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed extract

butylene glycol

simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil

prunus persica (peach) kernel oil

prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil

organic citrus medica limonum peel extract

citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel oil

organic citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil

Natulique Colorants/Hair Dyes

Let’s look closely at the colorants that I consider the main ingredients because they do the job of the actual coloring. Without them, a permanent hair color can’t exist. They are also the ones that may cause skin sensitization, a type of an allergic reaction after a sufficient exposure.

The European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety (SCCS) (link) assessed hair dyes for skin sensitization potency, assigning either extreme, strong, or moderate sensitization potency to them. Please see in the list below SCCS’s assessment of the Natulique colorants/hair dyes with the assigned sensitization potency by SCCS.

Colorant/Hair Dyes

SCCS Safety Assessment

p-phenylenediamine (PPD)

extreme

resorcinol

strong

2-methylresorcinol

moderate

4-chlororesorcinol

moderate

4-amino-2-hydroxytoluene

strong

p-aminophenol

strong

m-aminophenol

strong

2-amino-4-hydroxyethylaminoanisole sulfate

insufficient testing

The SCCS concludes that “hair dye substances which fulfill the criteria for classification as R43 may not be safe for consumers and that this is particularly so for hair dye substances categorized as extreme and strong sensitizers.”

5 out of 8 Natulique colorants are either extreme or strong sensitizers according to these standards.

So, as you can see, even though Natulique is allegedly certified as organic, in my opinion, this does not appear to be a safe product after all.

Hair Shaft Opener in Natulique Hair Color

Ammonia opens the cuticle layer of the hair and allows the color molecules to penetrate the hair. Natulique uses ethanolamine instead of ammonia to fulfill that role. According to Cosmeticsinfo.org, an educational website sponsored by personal care product manufacturers, ethanolamine has an ammonia-like odor, which is no surprise because it is produced by reacting 1 mole of ethylene oxide (a known human carcinogen, rated 10 out of 10 in the Skin Deep database) with 1 mole of ammonia.

According to the FDA, ethanolamine may also be contaminated with diethanolamine (DEA) that is linked with cancer in lab animals. In fact, Ethanolamine is rated 5-6 depending on usage (10 being the most toxic) in the Skin Deep database, while ammonia is rated 4-6. So in this case, according to the EWG database, ethanolamine is a regretful substitute for ammonia.

When I did more research for my Permanent Hair Color Rating List, I found that “there is limited evidence that ethanolamine is a teratogen in animals. Until further testing has been done, it should be treated as a possible teratogen in humans.” (source) (Teratogens are agents that interfere with fetus development.)

Other Ingredients in Natulique Hair Color

Other ingredients used in this permanent hair color formulation are water, skin conditioners, foaming agents, emulsifiers, and fragrance. For a quick overview, please take a look at the table with assigned score on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the most toxic) as it is found in the Skin Deep database powered by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). By the way, if there is no data available, the EWG assigned 1 to the ingredient, which as you can imagine does not mean the ingredient is safe.

Other Ingredients

Skin Deep Score

water

1

sodium coco sulfate

1 (no data)

myristyl alcohol

1

cetearyl alcohol

1

cocamide mea

1-4 depending on use (no data)

cocamide mipa

1 (no data)

cocamidopropyl betaine

4

oleth-20

2 (1,4-dioxane contamination concern)

sodium sulfite

2 (data gaps)

tetrasodium edta

2

bisamino peg/ppg-41/3 aminoethyl pg propyl dimethicone

3

vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil

1

natural parfum/fragrance

8

sodium cocoyl hydrolyzed wheat protein

1 (no data)

ascorbic acid

1

butyrospermum parkii (shea) butter

1

erythorbic acid

1

peg-10 olive glycerides

3

polysorbate 20

3

helianthus annuus (sunflower) seed extract

1

butylene glycol

1

simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil

1

prunus persica (peach) kernel oil

1

prunus armeniaca (apricot) kernel oil

1

organic citrus medica limonum peel extract

1

citrus grandis (grapefruit) peel oil

1

organic citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil

1

And yes, there are two certified organic ingredients in the product – organic citrus medica limonum peel extract and organic citrus aurantium dulcis (orange) peel oil but I don’t think that it cancels out the fact that this product contains colorants that may cause an allergic reaction.

Conclusion about Natulique Hair Color

After I look at the ingredients, I take a step further. I compare the product with similar products in the industry.

In my Permanent Hair Color Rating list, you can find out how Natulique compares with other permanent hair colors.

In the Permanent Hair Color Rating list, you will also find my suggestions on how to protect your hair and health.

Your financial support helps me to work full-time to encourage manufacturers to be more truthful and transparent with us. I wholeheartedly believe that together we can demand and receive safer consumer products.

Please share your thoughts in the comments and what other permanent or semi-permanent hair color brands you would want to know about.

13 Responses

Joy Wygant

Hi Irina,
Thanks again for your diligent research and exposing the truth behind these misleading brands! It’s so disappointing.
I have tried Hairprint a few times and am considering trying a different product next – Wella colortouch. Would be very interested to hear if you have any thoughts on that brand. I’ll plan to search your site to see if you’ve already covered it.

I haven’t. It is nice to hear from you, Joy! Thank you for your suggestion. I am very curious how Colortouch by Wella and Blumen by Goldwell would compare. I hope there are other people who would like to know that. ~Irina

Harsha

Thanks for your post and research, it has been helpful. I have been struggling to find a hair colour product that I’m not allergic to. I have been doing several patch tests on all sorts of brands that classify themselves as ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ and I would get a reaction. After so many patch tests I concluded that I’m allergic to ‘ALL’ hair colours and gave up. Your research and post does shed a light on the fact that there is more to a label than just what is printed on them . Maybe I will find something one day that will suit my sensitivity.

Thanks again.
Harsha

Suzana

Hi Irina! Have you done some research on Mastey hair color products (http://www.mastey.com/ ) and Naturigin http://www.naturigin.com/ ?
They are on our market and claim are the safest options for a healthy hair coloring…but they are not lited on EWG. I am interested to hear your opinion about them.

Rose G.

Hi Irina. You’ve uncovered something really big. Companies that create their own certifications to be considered organic is a new level of deception. I truly thank you for this natulique hair color review. I’ve now seen and heard of many complaints about their company. Thank you for the investigative research, but gut told me stay clear of them, now I can know for certain.

Michelle

What is the best professional salon brand of colour..? I am a hairdresser dealing with health issues and want to expose myself to the least amount of chemicals as possible. I’m soooo confused! Was considering original mineral and oway?? I’m in Australia

Michelle

I did buy it thanks. Interesting. Im just feeling puzzled. Im trying to find the least toxic pro salon brand in Australia for my health (breathing in ) as I have had bladder issues. Now I’m thinking a no ammonia product is not even worth trying? Is it all hype. As an overall brand which would be the least harmful for me? Or is that impossible?? Do I have to give up hairdressing..

Hi, Michelle: To respond to your questions properly, I think it is best to talk on the phone. I know you are dealing with some big issues right now and I would love to help you in the best way I can. Please email me with 3 time slots that work for you. Since you already bought the ebook and are in Autralia, I can give you a discount. https://ireadlabelsforyou.com/services/consultations/ ~Irina